A World Without "Whom"

September 15, 2017

Favilla's (global copy chief, BuzzFeed) observational guide to diction on the Internet begins with a playful, humble introduction in which the author downplays the "dogma" of a style guide by harpooning what she calls "the sacred prescriptivism/descriptivism dichotomy." Some featured examples are the redundancy of "reasons why" in contrast with the tendency of language arbiters to acknowledge how people actually speak (and thus how they may write). Favilla follows such explorations with insights on loaded diction, including "actress" vs "actor," and suggests avoiding the term millennials completely. This work also contains an official BuzzFeed word list with examples such as "judgy" (to stand as an adjective), "shit ton" (as two words, not hyphenated or used as a compound), and even "mac 'n' cheese." VERDICT A smart and amusing work that will appeal to those who enjoy the fun point of contact between language's inherent ambiguity and its cultural and technological biases.--Jesse A. Lambertson, Georgetown Univ. Libs.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 28, 2017
This witty and informative guide to language and contemporary usage, written by BuzzFeed copy chief Favilla, is a refreshingly modern antidote to the staid style guides of times past. Proceeding from “the fundamental fact that language always evolves,” Favilla describes the rationale by which she created a style guide for her employer that would accommodate the rapid shifts in language and style rampant on the internet (which, as she notes, was until recently capitalized) and in social media. Her subjects are wide-ranging and include proper forms of address and designation in our diverse society and the internet’s effect on the use of punctuation (the usually absent period in tweets becomes an indicator of aggression when used, for example). She sides with descriptivists who believe that “language should be defined by those who use it” against the prescriptivists who believe “there are rules you simply must follow” and supports her recommendations with wisdom gleaned from other style guides and screen captures of email (not “e-mail”) exchanges and web memes. Favilla’s style is light and breezy, which only makes it easier to absorb the serious import of her advice. This is the rare style manual that is as entertaining as it is instructive. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency.